In March 1979 Deng made it clear that to maintain the correct orientation in the modernization drive it was essential to adhere to the Four Cardinal Principles: keeping to the socialist road and upholding the dictatorship of the proletariat (the people's democratic dictatorship), leadership by the Communist Party and Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought.

Deng insisted that to ensure the implementation of the ideological and political lines, a correct organizational line must be established. He was particularly concerned about ensuring the selection of successors to ageing cadres. At his urging, a series of measures were adopted to build yp a contingent of their generation. These cadres would replace some of their older comrades and work in cooperation with those who would remain. In this way the system of life tenure for leading cadres would gradually be abolished, and the age structure within the ranks o fleading cadres would become more and more appropriate.

These efforts to rationalize the ideological, political and organizational lines set China back on the path of normal development. This was the prerequisite for carrying out socialist modernization and the policies of reform and opening to the outside would.

In order to set things to rights and overcome "Left" mistakes it was necessary to clear up the confusion in people's minds about how to evaluate the historical role of Mao Zedong. For this reason the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee adopted a resolution on the subject, entitled "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China". It was Deng who presided over the drafting of this landmark document. While completely condemning the "cultural revolution" and the wrong guidelines on which it was based, the resolution made a comprehensive evaluation of Mao's historical role, affirming that his contributions were primary and his mistakes secondary. It distinguished between Mao Zedong Thought--the crystallization of collective wisdom and the product of scientific theory confirmed by practice-and the mistakes Mao made in his later years, emphasizing the need to uphold and develop the former. This resolution helped greatly to unify the thinking of the whole Party and to ensure political unity and stability throughout the country.

Editor: Catherine